Bolster center filler and draft gear stop



June' 3, Y1941 w. F. DIETRlcHsoN 2,244,518

BOLSTER CENTER FILLER'ND DRAFT GEAR STOP Filed. May 1, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M f 4 if 46 H ATTORNEY June 3, 19414. w. F. DI'ETRlcHsoN 2,244,518 ABQLS'I'ER CENTER FILLER AND DRAFT GEAR STOP Filed Maya', 1940 2 shets-sheet 2' INVENTOR and rear draft stops have center sill .and for the draft gear stops.

Patented June y3, 1941 2,244,518 Bons'rna CENTER. m.

IERANDDRAIT GEAR STOP William F; Dietrlchson,

erlcan Car 'and Foundry Berwick, Pa., assignor to Company, New

York, N. Y., a corporation of New' Jersey Application May 1, 1940, Serial No. 332,669

22 Claims.

This invention relates to underframes for railway cars in general and in particular to that portion of the frame adjacent the truck center bearings and bolster.

Since the beginning of steel car construction bolster center .tillers have been made practically without exception of castings and in order to simplify the construction and at the same time strengthen the framing, the bolster center filler beencombined into a single casting. Such castings are of necessity extremely heavy and involve considerable expense in machining to remove the irregularities of the casting and obtain a perfect t with the Re. cently the trend has been toward welded assem blies in which the casting broken down into a plurality of separate steel plates welded together to form an integral structure substantially identical with the casting. With such a welded construction the weight will be approximately half of the casting structure with the cost reduced not quite half. The strength presumably is retained the same althoughithere can be no certainty since defects in Welding and unequal distribution of stresses may cause failure even though theA parts are made of metal having a. higher unit strength. It has been discovered that by proper rearrangemen-t of metal and by taking full advantage of commercial rolled sections, the cost may be materially reduced although the weight may be slightly increased over the all-Welded construction, but will be materially reduced from the all-cast construction. For example, the AAR type of cast center filler and rear draft lug weighs approximately 650 lpounds machined per car and at present costs roughly $70.00; while lthe allewelded construction, dependent upon its design, will weigh approximately 400 pounds and cost in the neighborhood of $40.00 perl car. proper use of rolled metal, as will later be disclosed, .the Weight may borhood of 525 pounds $32.00 per'car. the cost of application to the center sill; in other words, to a structure ready for use in a car. It will be seen, therefore, .that one of the objects of the invention is Ithe provision of an improved bolster center filler and draft gear stop that may beeasily fabricated from rolled sections 'with a minimum of Welding.

A further object of .the invention is the provision of'a combined bolster center filler and draft gear stop which may be readily applied and at a total cost of has been in effectA be reduced to the neigh- These prices necessarily include 45 y (ci. '10s-4.20)

to the center sill'structure and produce an arrangement of increased strength;

' A still further object of the invention is the provision of a. bolster center ller and draft gear stop formed `of the same metal as the center sills and fastened thereto with a minimum of welding, thereby internal stresses.

These and other objects of the invention will be'apparent to persons skilled in the art from a study of the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, in which: l

Figure 1 is a sectional view .taken through one end of the underframe substantially at the lon gitudinal center linelthereof;

Fig, 2 is a plan view ofthe construe-tion shown in Fig. l with parts in section to better disclose the con-struction;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view through 2o the center sill and taken substantially on line 3-3 of Eig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a bottom r filler arrangement applied to the center sills; and

Fig. 5 is a rear upper perspective view of the center ller unit ready fo application to the center sills.

Referring now to the drawings in'detail, it will be seen that the improved bolster center 1111er and draft gear stop arrangement has been ap= plied to a car of the hopper type having the new AAR welded Z center sill. It will, of course, be

obvious that the center sill arrangement has been 'applied to such a sill and car merely for illustrative purposes for it is equally applicable to center sills of other types such as those shown in Figures 521 and 538 of spectively of the Car Builders' Encyclopedia for 1937. lit will be equally obvious that by slight 40 Ymodifications in the form of the center Iiller and back-stop arrangement, it may be used for horlz-ontal yoke draft gears of types similar to that shown in Figure 539, page 388,]of the 1937 Car Builders Encyclopedia.

As above stated, the improved bolster center iiller and draft gear stop has been applied to a hopper type car having end slope sheets 2, supported upon, bolster 4 resting upon and secured to the center sill structure. Customary gussets 6 are used to brace the center sill and assist in the support of the slope sheets. As clearly shown,

. the bolster is disposed entirely above the center sill. structure with side bearings being provided by vertical I-beams 8 welded to the bolster and braced to the center sill by diverging angles l0.

minimizing the distortion and perspective view of the cene The usual end S111 l2 ends to the ends of is provided connected at its side sills Hl and braced by diagonal braces IE. The center sill structure has mounted .therein between the bolster and the ends of the sill a. draft gear of the vertical yoke type having .yoke le, front follower 2li and rear follower 2f2 separated by any suitable type of resilient unit 2d. The vertically disposed 'yoke is connected by draft approved type of coupler 2t. The coupler shank is supported upon the carry iron Sil which is formed as part of the striker ca-sting 32, which is connected to the ends of the center sills. Front stops 313 of either cast or drop forged construction are attached to the center sill structure to limit outward movement of the front followers.

As clearly shown, the center sill structure is made up of two Z-bar members having short flanges d0, vertical webs d2 and a comparatively long flange M. In forming the center sill these long upper flanges are placed in edge to edge relation and welded together as at 155, thus forming a downwardly opening ange channel center vsill with the short flanges disposed at the lower edge and directed away from each other; The combined bolster center ller and draft gear stop is formed by using short center sill sections preferably cut from the center sills themselves in order that dimensional inaccuracies of rolling will not interfere with fabrication, although in practice it is found that such`inaccuracies are very small and do notinterfere with assembly or fabrication of the units. In forming the bolster center filler and rear draft gear stop, the short center sill elements are positioned with the long flange l5 downwardly and positioned'beneath the short ange d@ of the center sill. The webs 4t of the short sections will thus be disposed vertically in spaced relation and parallel to the webs of the center sills, while the'short anges 5t will underlie and be in contact with the top of the center sill formed by the long flanges tl. The spacing between short flanges 50 of the bol-V ster center flller elements is so regulated as to permit the edges to be welded to the top portionof the center sill as at 5I, while at the same time causing the long ange to project slightly beyond the edge of the short flange Ml, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, in order to provide a` ledgeto more readily permit welding together of the flanges 46 and 40. As clearly show'nl in Figs. 2 and 4, a shortportion of each ange 50 is cut away as at 52 in order to accommodate the vertically disposed yoke of the draft gear and the edges of this cut away portion are securely welded to the top ofthe center sill. It is, of

course, obvious that if a horizontal yoke draft gear is to' be used, this cutting away of the angeswill not be necessary. In order -to provide space for reception of the truck center pin, short plates 54 are provided having the inner ends pressed with a senil-circular corrugation 56 adapted to be disposed in overlapping relation with the similar corrugatlon. of. the adjoining plate .to provide a vertically extending hole- 51, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The top and side edges of these plates are welded or otherwise secured to the webs and short anges 55 of the center ller element. The lower edges of these center pin receiving plates bear upon the upper surface of a. tie and bearing plate 58 extending between and securely welded to the lower edges of the vertically extending webs 48. 'Ihis combined tie and bearing lplate is formed with a central opening 60 adapted to receive key 2t to the shank of any lthe center-'pin and with transversely extending corrugations 62 which serve to stiffen the plate purpose a plurality of holes 61 are punched or minimum of welding and the unit joined to the -to form a unit as shown otherwise formed in the .edges of the flanges 4d. In order to provide increased bearing area for the back followers, back stop plates 1li are profvided having one edge welded directly to the web of the center sill as indicated at 1l in Fig.

2, while the other edge is welded as at 'i3 to the ends of the webs 48 of the 4bolster centerflller elements. To relieve the weld 'li of some of the strain and to brace the webs d8, short ribs 1d are welded to the webs t8 centrally thereof and as near as possible in a position centrally be hind the rear followers. These ribs have their front edge in direct bracing engagement with the back stops l and will, as previously stated, relieve the weld 'H of some strain and prevent distortion of the web 18 or of the back stops lil. It will further be apparent that' the plates 5d constitute additional bracing means for the back stops 'lll and the webs 48; said bracing means 52% and it being so arranged in the structure as to absorb, to a large amount, the bufng shock transmitted to the back stops 16, thus correspondingly reducing the direct transmission of said shock from sill Webs 62.

In assembling the center filler and draft gear stop, the parts will be preferably welded together in Fig. 5, while the back stop It will be welded in proper position on the center sill', after which the vunit as shown in Fig. 5 will be brought into position and welded `to the .back stops and to the center sill struccenter sill and bolster center filler together. It A is,- of course, obvious that if a different type of bolster is used, it maybe necessary to use a lbottom cover plate, but in any case this would not affect the construction or arrangement of the bolster center filler just described. In case the draft gear of the horizontal yoke type is to be used, then the back stops 'l0 will either be joined together to form'a solid wall or a single.

solid plate will be inserted taking the place'of the two plates 10.

From the preceding description it will be seen that the combined bolster center filler and draft gear stop is formed entirely of commercial rolled sections and plates connected together with a center sill with a of welding disposed so as to take the weld. In other words, all of the welds joining the unit tothe sills will act in shear. It would be impossible to distort the back stops 10 since they are backed up by the full depth andlength of the flanges I8 as well as by ribs 1l. ItV

will be apparent that there is no machine work at allv and that the number of pieces has been reduced to a minimum, thus materially reducing `the cost of the u nit while producing a unit which may be readily applied.

the back stop Wto the center.

full advantage of the strength of While the construction 4rearrangements of parts are contemplated asv will fall within the scope of the appended claims defining my invention. u'

What is claimed is:

1. In a car underframe including a continuous channel shaped center transmission of local strains directly from said aback stops to said center sill webs.

2. In a car underframe including a continuous the center sill. i i

3. In a car underframe including a continuous enter sill having a top portion connecting togear back stops the bolster and and secured to the short lower -ianges of the center sill.

5. In a car underfrax'ne including a flanged channel center sill formed by Z bars each having long and short angeS, with the long anges and with the short to provide the sill flanges at the lower edges of the sill webs, draft gear back stops secured to the sill Webs inwardly stop" bracing means' of the sill ends, and back l directed toward each sill top portion thereby placing the webs of the bracing means in spaced relation to the sill webs.

`6. In a caunderframe including an inverted webs, said bracing center sill with the outer ends spaced inwardly ofthe sill ends, and draft gear back stops secured to said sill and bracing means and closing the space'between the adjacent webs.

7. In a car underframe including an inverted substantially less than the-spacing of said center sill webs to provide spaces webs, said bracing means outer surfaces of the webs of said back stop bracing means. a v

8. VIn a car underframe including. an inverted flanged channel center sill having spaced apart substantially vertical Webs, channel back stopbracing means having substantially vertical webs substantially less than the spacing of said center sill webs to provide spaces between the adjacentwebs, lsaid bracing means being secured to the center sill with the outer ends spaced inwardly of the sill ends, and .draft gear back stops Seand located in the space therebetween.

9. In a car underframe adapted to be supported on trucks and including a center sill having a top portion connecting together spaced apart Webs, center bearings for supporting the sill, combined center filler and back stop bracing means secured to the sill and having spaced webs spaced inwardly of said sill websto p roproviding an opening i alignment with the axis of the adjacent center bearing.

10. In a car underframe adapted to be supported on trucks and other and secured to the spaced apart a distance 4 J axis `thereof substantially in alignment with the axis of the adjacent center bearing.

11. In a car underframe adapted to be supported on trucks and including a center sill having a top portion connecting together spaced apart webs, center bearings for supporting the sill, combined center filler and back stop bracing means secured to the sill and having spaced webs spaced inwardly of said sill webs :to provide rectangular cavities between the adjacent webs, back stops secured to said bracing means and sill webs and closing one end of said cavi# ties, plate means connected to the webs of said bracing means above said center bearings and providing an opening in alignment with the axis of the adjacent center bearing, and additional plate means connecting said first named plate means and the lower edge of the webs of said bracing means, said additional plate means overlapping and bracing said center bearing intermediate the webs of said back stop bracing means.

l2. As an article of manufacture a combined center filler and draft gear back stop for car center sills' having spaced apart webs and comprising short unsyrn'metrical Z bars secured together to form an inverted iianged channel hav-- ing webs spaced apart a distance substantially less than the spacing between the center sill p webs, and draft gear back stops overlapping an end of the Z bar webs and being .secured theret and extending laterally of the webs a suiicient distance to contact the center sill webs.

13. As an article of manufacture a combined center filler and draft gear back stop for 'car center sills having spaced apart webs and comprising short unsymmetrical Z bars secured together to form an inverted flanged channel having webs spaced apart a distance substantially, less than the spacing between the center sill webs, draft gear back stops overlapping an end of the Z bar webs and being secured thereto and extending laterally ofthe webs a sufficient distance to contact the center sill webs, and buttress means secured to the webs of said Z bars and supporting the central portions of the lateral extensions of said back stops.

14. As an article of manufacture a combined center filler and draft gear back stop for car center sills having spaced apart webs and com-v prising short pnsymmetric'al Z bars having vertical webs and short flanges directed toward each other, plate means securing said Z bars together to form an inverted flanged channel having the webs thereof `spaced apart a distancesubstantially less -than the spacing between the center sill webs, and draft gear back stops overlapping an end of the webs and being secured thereto and at least one 'of the flanges of the Z bars and extending laterally outward ofv the webs a sufhcient distance to contact the center sill webs.

15. is an article of manufacture a combined center ller and draft gear'back stop compris v ing short unsymmetrical Z bars secured together to form an inverted channel having spaced apart webs, and draft gear back stops overlapping an end of the Z bar webs and being secured thereto and extending laterally outward of the webs.

16. As an article of manufacture a combined center filler and draft gear back stop comprising short unsymmetrical Z bars secured together to form an inverted iianged channel having spaced apart webs, draft gear back stops overlapping having the long thereto `an'dextending laterally outward of lthe v webs, and buttress means. secured to the webs of said Z bars and supporting the central portions of the lateral extensions.

17. As an article of manufacture a combined center ller and draft gear back stop comprising short unsymmetrical Z bars having vertical webs and short upper iianges directed toward each other, plate means securing said Z bars together to form an inverted flanged channel having spaced apart webs, and draft gear back stops overlapping an end of the webs and being secured thereto and to at least one of the iianges of the Z bars, vsaid back stops extending laterally outward of the webs of the Z bars.

18. As an article of manufacture a combined center filler and draft gear back stop support comprising short unsymmetrcal Z bars secured together to substantially form an flanged/channel having spaced apart webs and iianges of the Z bars directed laterally outwardly away from each other, and a rigid member ksecured to the web of each Z bar and arranged substantially parallel to the Z bar flanges and constituting bracing elements for the Z bar webs.

19. In a car underframe, interfittedinner and outer channel sections secured together at the head portions thereof with the webs thereof arranged in spaced relation, and spaced means extending between and connecting theadjacently arranged'channel webs and constituting back stops.

spaced webs spaced respectively from the adtween and jacent webs of the outer channel section, back stops connecting the webs of the outer channel lsection with the adjacent `webs of the inner channel section, and 'means for reducing the amount of shock transmitted from the back stops directly to the webs of the outer channel section comprising rigid members extending beconnecting the webs of the inner channel section, and rigid bracing means secured to the webs of the inner channel section and located between said inner channel section and said outer channel section.

21. In a car underframe including an inverted channel center sill having spaced apart webs, back stops secured to said webs, and bracing means for said back stops comprising an inlverted channel member having the webs and top portion thereof arranged within the center sill and its flanges and top portion directly connected to the center sill and the web portions thereof spaced from the center sill webs but connected to said back stops.

back stop support extending between and said Z bars to form a connecting the webs of iiangedchannel section having parallel spaced apart webs, said plate members having adjacently arranged arcuate portions formed therein to denne a king pin opening,

the ends of the Z bar webs and secured thereto J and extending laterally outward of the Webs.

' .WILLIAM F. DIE'I'RICHSON.

inverted 20. In .a car under-frame, an outer channel 'and draft gear back stops overlapping 

